


Nocturnal

by x0wynn0x



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, canon with a little sprinkle of noncanon mixed in, enemies to lover, except theyre not exactly enemies, more like people who dont like each other to lover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 19:08:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29921478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/x0wynn0x/pseuds/x0wynn0x
Summary: Judy Alvarez was dealt with a bad hand in life, therefore it came as no surprise when her one way ticket out of hell turned into a nightmare. What did come as a surprise was the person she least expected to see, walking alongside her through it all. Like the moon lighting up the night.Or so, Judy would like to believe.
Relationships: Judy Alvarez/V
Comments: 8
Kudos: 106
Collections: Lizzie's Bar





	Nocturnal

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, first of all, thanks for reading. Second of all, all mistakes are mine and not my invisible beta. Third of all, this story follows canon with a few canon-dialogue from the game, up until a certain ending and then it'll be up to me to finish the rest of it. There's so many paths to take with the post-ending, so the possibilities are endless....dun dun dun.

Judy’s first impression of the merc wasn’t a reassuring one. V was her name, and she was a tad too cocky for someone who’d just recently popped up on the scene. She kept up with most of Judy’s tech speak but had talked big game for a novice, and that condescending attitude whenever Judy questioned her was a red flag. At least V was hot and had that going for her, but she must be a giant gonk if she thought infiltrating Konpeki Plaza and fucking with Arasaka was a brilliant idea. A Johnny Silverhand in the making. 

Maybe V was preem at her job, maybe she was horrible, but the simple conclusion was: she was a deadwoman walking. 

Judy was usually dead-on, no pun intended, with her appraisals. 

After their braindance training session was over and V made a hasty exit, Judy turned to Evelyn with a shake of her head and click of her tongue. “You really know how to pick ‘em. Girl didn’t even know what a raw BD was and you think she’s not going to fuck up? And that tagged along netrunner? Seriously, Evie, where’s the privacy?”

Evelyn tapped her cigarette case on Judy’s work desk, appearing as if she hadn’t listened to a word Judy said. She took her sweet time pulling out a cig, placing it between her nude matte lipstick, and then lighting it. Behind them, a red-neon No Smoking sign flickered on and off. 

Her eyes trailed back over to Judy as she exhaled a cloud of fruity scented smoke. “I’m lucky someone even took up the job. Not many people would touch Arasaka with a 10ft pole, Judy. Dexter Deshawn and his minions are doing us a favor; one that will benefit all of us immensely.” 

“Yeah, if they succeed. But what if they fail?”

“We’ll cross that bridge _if_ we get there. Don't be so pessimistic.”

Judy turned back to her computer screens, but she couldn’t ignore the trepidation coiling within her stomach. “I don’t trust Dex. V looks questionable, and who the fuck is even T-Bug? Only decent gonk here seems to be Jackie.” 

She had met V’s partner months ago, back when he was a regular at Lizzie’s Bar for the drinks and dancing. One of the rare few who never asked for a smut BD, never asked for a private room, and always tipped well. One time he even brought along his output - a pretty lady with a face full of freckles and poofy hair - and was happily showing her off and introducing her to all the staff. 

“Looks can be deceiving,” said Evelyn. "V might surprise you, and don't be fooled by Jackie; he didn't get the street cred he has by being _decent_. I do agree with you on Dex - I don't trust him either." She placed a gentle hand on Judy’s shoulder, pulling Judy’s gaze away from meaningless flashing numbers. The same apprehension Judy had was reflected back in Evelyn's green eyes. “We don’t have many choices though. I can’t get anyone to pick up the job in this dumb town without a fixer, and they're all afraid to antagonize Saburo Arasaka’s son. These people are our only chance. But...I did give V another proposition - cut out the middleman. She says she’ll consider it.” 

Judy's eyes narrowed. “You think backstabbing Dex will make any of this easier? Make it go smoother? C’mon now, Evie.”

“I know what I’m doing, Judy.” 

Somehow, Judy doubted that. Evelyn was a woman with big dreams and bigger ambitions, but Judy felt she was in a little over her head. Not to mention, word on the street was, Dexter Deshawn's 2 year hiatus was due to him botching a job so badly he was forced to lay low and keep his head down. The man had a reputation of being the scummiest scum to ever scummed. Evelyn must’ve been aware of it, and yet remained desperate for his help. Judy was afraid the desperation would lead to irresponsible moves. 

There was one positive outcome from the job: they were finally communicating again after a long break apart. Judy could at least help her with this if it meant not going back to that. 

“She’s cute though, isn’t she?” Evelyn’s voice pulled Judy out from her head. A sly smile stretched across her face as she flicked her cigarette ash in a soda can. Judy's soda can.

Judy shot her an annoyed look for the drink and for the baiting. “Cute for a dead woman.”

“I can give you her number if you want it. You both look like you need to relax a little. Unwind.” 

“Need I remind you the last time you introduced me to someone, I got Maiko,” Judy said, intent on nipping the topic in the bud. She dropped her chin in her palm, going back to the work in front of her. Unlike other freeloaders, she had a job to do. 

Evelyn chuckled. “Touche. But I’ve learned better now. Heard V's not only good at her job, but also good in certain other...areas. She’s been around Clouds a few times with her ex-corpo chooms. Never had the pleasure myself though.”

“Still not interested, especially now that you just confirmed she’s a corpo-rat. I thought she looked familiar. Plus, it’s stupid to start anything if we’re planning to ditch this place anyways.”

“That’s true.” Evelyn sounded far away as she inhaled a long drag from her cigarette, and then blew out a giant circle directly at Judy’s head. 

Judy scowled at her, but Evelyn returned it with a cheeky smile and wink. Evelyn could be a lot of things - assertive, driven, a giant tease - but her double-edge sword was the confidence that sometimes blinded her. Overconfident in her plans, the people she trusted, the idea that she could play and beat the house at its own game. Judy was aware of all her best friend's faults but she'd still follow Evelyn to the ends of the earth if the other woman asked. 

She wanted to get the fuck out of Night City, and if that meant playing along to Evelyn’s grand scheme, then so be it. 

******************************

Judy shouldn’t have fucking gone along with Evelyn’s grand scheme. She should’ve followed her intuition and begged Evelyn to call off the whole thing. Now she had a pissed-off merc stalking her for Evelyn’s whereabouts and antagonizing her at every turn, so excuse Judy for reverting back to being a mega-bitch. It wasn’t Evelyn’s fault that V and her partners had failed the heist, nor was it Evelyn’s fault for whatever the hell happened to V afterwards.

V had showed up right as Judy was getting lectured by her Mox leader Suzie for being a bleeding heart - a ridiculous reason for getting yelled at, considering the Moxes' motto had been to help the less fortunate, but Judy guessed that wasn't bringing in enough profits for her Commander-in-Sellout. Having to deal with V right after Suzie did not help elevate her mood. She wanted just one day to go her way, but apparently that was too much to ask for. 

She wound up taking her aggravations out on V, providing vague answers in part because she didn’t know, and in part for Evelyn’s preservation. The last thing she wanted to do was hand Evelyn over to a hired gun with a vendetta. 

“Seem to know how the heist went, meaning you did talk to her,” V kept pressing. She encroached on Judy’s space, a fiery look behind her cold eyes. 

“I know how you fucked up,” Judy sneered, pushing away from her desk to get distance between them. “Got all your choombas killed, like a real pro.” Her defenses shot up quickly when V followed her to the server room. She had half the mind to throw a wrench at V’s forehead.

“You played your part too,” V insisted. “You were just as involved as I was, and we both got fucked over in the end. Trying to make this simple. Just tell me where she is - why can’t you?”

“I don’t trust you. That’s simple.”

That should’ve been the end of it but V wouldn’t let it die, and a part of Judy - the part that hadn’t heard from Evelyn in nearly a week - couldn’t scratch away the paranoia that something must’ve happened if Evelyn wasn’t answering her phone. By the end of the half-assed interrogation, V managed to push her enough to answer the bare minimum. She hoped that if Evelyn was indeed at Clouds, then the establishment could protect her from anything V might pull.

Several hours later, Judy received an unexpected update from V; a surprise considering how their last confrontation had ended.

Not only was Evelyn not at Clouds, but she was nearly flatlined on the job by nefarious netrunners. Cloud's manager, Woodman, had pawned off her comatose body to Fingers, the sleaziest ripperdoc in all of Night City, who in turn dumped her off after he couldn't use her anymore. Now Judy and V were on a hunt to track down the lowlives who had taken her. This was not how Judy ever envisioned spending a Friday night. 

“You drive like you’re having a stroke.”

Judy’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. She didn’t give V the pleasure of knowing the comment bothered her. 

“We can’t rescue Evelyn if we flatline in a car crash on our way there.”

Judy continued to ignore her. 

V went quiet, until a minute later when she absolutely needed to voice her thoughts. “You just ran a stoplight and almost hit that kid. Slow down Judy, the scav hideout isn’t going to up and disappear.”

“Will you shut up?” Judy snapped. “Someone you care about isn’t getting fucked over by ripperdocs and XBDs dealers.” 

“No, somebody I cared about got zeroed by half-baked plans instead,” V retorted. “You’re not the only one who needs her alive, but rushing into this with a hot head isn’t going to do anyone a favor.”

Judy wanted to respond that doing things V's way by slow-walking instead of rushing still got her chooms killed. The comment was at the tip of her tongue, but that would mean making the rest of the car ride even more uncomfortable and miserable. Instead, she loosened her grip on the steering wheel and eased up on the accelerator, hoping that would appease V and shut her up. 

But of course, that was too much to ask for. 

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about what happened to Evelyn,” V said, sounding too blase for Judy’s liking. V had sweet-talked Fingers to get Evelyn’s whereabouts, then had the nerve to tell _Judy_ to calm down after Judy gave that sick ripperdoc a good slap in the face. So forgive her for not believing that V gave a rat’s ass about Evelyn unless it was for her own benefit.

“Trust me when I say no Scav will come out of that building alive,” V continued. “There’ll be one less scumbag on the streets selling illicit BDs.” 

“I don’t give a fuck what you do to them,” Judy grumbled. “I just want her back.” 

“You don’t want them dead?” 

Judy made a sharp turn, knocking V into the side of the passenger door with an audible ‘umf.’ Good. “Course I do, don’t question that. I’ve just been in the streets long enough to know you can cut off a hydra’s head but two more will grow in its place.” 

Silence grew around them, and Judy noticed from her peripheral that V’s head was turned her way, studying her. “Think you and I aren’t that much different,” she settled on. “We both know what it’s like to get fucked over by this city, and we've become immuned to it.” 

Judy had to snicker; they were nothing alike. “Sorry, did that gold spoon leave a bitter taste in your mouth? Lets not pretend you didn’t show up to Lizzie’s in a fuckin’ AV a couple of months ago. Yeah, I heard about what you did to those poor kids on that court. Know all about your Arasaka life, choomba.” 

“Then you know Arasaka chewed me up and spat me out just like everyone else they’ve sucked the soul from. Yes, I was a corpo bitch but I'm not denying that. Also not trying to fight here, Judy. My point is, we’re all in this together now.”

“Until we find Evelyn and you get what you need. Then we can both go our separate ways.” 

Her GPS pinged and informed them they had arrived at their destination, cutting V off from replying. Judy jerked the van onto a dirt pavement on the other side of the road, where they could hide in the shadows and away from the streetlights. V had the sense not to comment when Judy ran over a few shopping carts full of bagged cans in the process. 

******************************

Judy’s doubts about V’s skills were squashed when she saw firsthand how lethal V was with quickhacking and mantis blades. She’d never seen someone so effortlessly takedown an entire room, only to go back and finish the job by slicing off everyone’s throat. Judy knew the basics of quickhacks, like turning off cameras or frying machinery, but was nowhere as dangerous as an actual Solo. She could only imagine how powerful V’s old netrunner T-Bug had been, if even V needed T-Bug’s help on the technical side. 

That didn’t excuse V’s complete lack of tact when it came to dealing with people. 

“The fuck are you playin’ at?” Judy hissed, after closing the bedroom door behind them - the bedroom where a catatonic, beaten down Evelyn laid and was in no state to be interrogated. “She can barely move and you’re already hounding her with questions?”

V tipped her chin up. “Waiting around and twiddlin’ with my thumb up my ass isn’t time I have. I’ll let her rest but I still need answers.”

“You won’t let her do anything. This is my apartment -”

“-And I helped you rescue her. We had a deal.”

Judy worked her jaw back and forth. Half of her wanted to smack V for being so pushy, but the other half admired the merc’s determination. This woman didn’t back down, that’s for damn sure.

“I was so done with your shit…” she began, and then told V everything she discovered from Evelyn’s scrolls. At least that way, it’ll keep V off Evelyn’s ass for a while.

They moved to Judy’s office so V could watch the raw virtus herself. During V’s trip inside the virtual reenactment, Judy used the break to take a breather, reevaluate their situation, and finally relaxed. Exhaustion caught up to her, causing her to flop back in her chair like a sloth. Her gaze traveled over to V who was deep inside the braindance. 

V had the air of a corpo-rat and held her head high like one too. Her appearance was immaculate, as if she’d just gotten out of a meeting as opposed to spending most of the night massacring a group of scumbags. After they came back to Judy’s apartment, V's first suggestion was that they all clean up, something that was low on Judy's priorities but did Evelyn good. Get rid of the stench and blood - at least that, Judy could agree with her on. 

By the time V finished watching all the virtus, she looked as tired as Judy felt. Judy didn’t demand or expected her to, but V still provided context on the biochip and how it was a relic of Johnny Silverhand. Their lives had been flipped upside down over a stupid piece of program containing a dead terrorist rocker boy. 

Judy wanted to laugh. 

V, on the other hand, was determined to chase down the Voodoo Boys who’d been the spark that ignited the fire. Who was Judy to stop her? She didn’t know why V was so intent on following the rabbit down that hole when the smarter thing to do would be to put the past behind them and start anew. Judy could say without a doubt that she was done with it all, and she was going to make sure Evelyn was too. 

She was going to focus on rehabilitating her best friend and putting all thoughts of the biochip and the merc out of her mind.

******************************

It came as a surprise when a couple of days later, V returned to her apartment with a bag of supplies. 

“Think we started off on the wrong foot,” V said, marching through the door the second Judy had opened it, and placed two heavy looking grocery bags on Judy's counter. _Well, come on in then._ “Have enough painkillers in here for Evelyn to last a lifetime. Help her with the recovery. Whatever she needs.” 

Judy was hit with whiplash, especially from someone she knew who was normally business-like and at times, apathetic. Something was amiss, Judy could tell by V’s hard breathing and her fidgety hands, could tell by how V kept giving her expectant looks. 

“What do you need?” Judy softballed.

Sure enough, V’s stance relaxed. This wasn’t a regular housecall, further proven by V’s next words, “Have you ever heard of Alt Cunningham and project SoulKiller?” 

Judy was a technical specialist whose grandfather read the Science Quarterly to her as bedtime stories, of course she was an Alt Cunningham and SoulKiller enthusiast. She gave V a rundown about the former legendary Netrunner, the mythical Black Program virus, and everything she learned while browsing the dark web. When V questioned her on whether or not something like SoulKiller could be tweaked or modded, she could only shrug and assume yes.

“Don’t see why not, a green weefle with a good enough rig could bypass any corpo’s ICE nowadays,” Judy said.

“Can you do it?”

Judy gave V an incredulous look. “With my off market set-up and scrappy ass processor? You got jokes, chica. I’m no Alt Cunningham, maybe give me a few years.” 

V sighed heavily, rubbing her face with a hand. Judy was going to question V on why she was getting 21-question’ed, but a noise coming from the bedroom tore their attention away. They both stilled, waiting for another sign of life, but nothing else came from behind the closed door. 

“How she doing?” V asked in a surprisingly gentle tone - at least for Judy, because she wasn’t used to V sounding sincere. 

“She’s moving around but she still won’t talk or get out of bed.” 

“Was serious about helping her, you know. Anything you need.”

This whole day was starting to feel like a dream. Judy took a moment to examine V, ignoring the flare of sympathy she felt for the other woman's gaunt appearance. Maybe she should’ve offered her something to drink, a cushion to sleep on, or a fucking meal. She decided to hell with it - if the merc was offering, why not? 

“Gonna get a professional to make a homevisit and dig a little deeper," Judy said. "Her name’s Lucy Thackery. I’d have to do overtime for a whole month to afford it, but I don’t wanna be away from Evie too long. You can help pay for that so I won’t have to work extra hours.” 

V nodded, eyes faraway. Judy waited for her to ask for the price, but V continued to stare into space before seemingly coming back to herself. “You care for her.” 

Judy had to roll her eyes at that. “ _No_ , what makes you think that?” 

“Are you two -”

“Lemme stop you right there.” Judy crossed her arms, putting on her least amused face. “First, it’s none of your business, and second, even if we were, it’d still be none of your business.”

There was an upward tick to V’s lips before she met Judy’s stare. “Just curious, that’s all,” she said, sounding not one bit chastised. She seemed to deliberate over something before telling Judy, “Remember my partner, Jackie? He was my best choom, supported me when Araska threw me out. I’d fight to the ends of the world for him too.” Her voice drifted off, face growing forlorn, and Judy was struck by the sense that she was looking at a mirror. 

She wondered if V was trying to relate to her, like she had in the past, and what was the point? Was there an ulterior motive, or was Judy being paranoid due to her lack of sleep and living on only caffeine for the past several days. Fuck, she needed a vacation, and to maybe drag Evelyn’s ass with her after all is said and done. 

Neither of them were one for small talk, so V took her leave after she got what she needed. With the apartment silent and Evelyn still unresponsive, Judy was left with time to think and brood. Think about how one trainwreck of a heist ruined so many people’s lives. Brood about how she felt herself slipping into a sinkhole full of uncontrollable rage but couldn’t do anything about it. She was beginning to think having V’s presence around was more preferable than being alone, wallowing in worry and self-pity. 

Her mind strayed to V throughout the day, on how genuine their interaction had been. V had looked exhausted but still well-put together, and she was so much more likable when she wasn’t being a cold hardass. Nasty guilt twisted in Judy’s stomach when she realized she even found V’s hardheadedness attractive sometimes. On top of the horrible timing, why was she always drawn to fucked up women?

The merc solidified her grandstanding in Judy’s mind when hours later, credits worth more than a month of overtime pay was transferred over to her account. 

******************************

The first number Judy thought of to call was V. It wasn’t Tom, Evelyn’s closest friend at Clouds, nor was it the NCPD, actual qualified personnel who were trained to handle shit like this. It was V. And it was without hesitation, without worrying whether or not V might pick up, because she always picked up, even when they were on shaky grounds.

Judy came out of her haze when she heard V’s arrival. A sick part of her took pleasure in seeing the horrified expression on V’s face, and her nasty insides wanted to point and say, _Guess Night City can still shock a professional killer. Not so fuckin' immune now, are you?_ But she quickly stopped herself, because V didn't deserve her ire. 

V came. 

Judy swallowed down the anger, the need to lash out, and robotically answered all of V’s questions of: what happened, how did it happen, what do you need me to do?

She was only gone for an hour on a grocery run when Evelyn Parker decided to paint her bathroom in red. 

She was running on pure rage, yelling obscenities at the most useless fucking badges in existence then asking V to carry Evelyn’s body to her bedroom. 

She was floating in a stupor, ignoring all of V’s attempts at consoling her and yet allowing V to hold back her hair while she threw up the little she ate. 

She was diving in the dark without equipment, making funeral plans and calling all of Evelyn’s old chooms as if she knew what she was doing, as if she was a seasoned pro at burying her loved ones. 

She was a madwoman, smoking for the first time in years while her brain schemed up ways to flatline every single person who’d ever said a bad word about Evelyn. 

And in the rearview mirror was V, silently going along for the ride. 

“What are you doing here?” Judy asked several days later when she received a message that V was standing outside her door. 

V appeared unbothered by her cool greeting. “Had a gig in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by and see how you were doing. The funeral was yesterday, wasn’t it?”

Judy nodded, pulling away from the door but leaving it open for V to enter. Her head was pounding due to the copious amount of alcohol she drowned herself in last night - courtesy of Tom who wanted a drinking partner. She thought the booze would cool the rage, but it still persisted and simmered underneath her skin. Therefore, she flip-flopped between being annoyed at V’s presence, to appreciating the checkup. 

She sagged on her couch, half sitting, half laying, butt barely hanging on the edge of the cushion with her legs spread. Somehow she thought if she expanded herself enough it’ll help the hangover. 

It didn’t. 

Her eyes felt heavy, but she kept them open to watch V meander around her living room, stopping idly at her fish tank. “Sorry for not extending an invitation,” Judy said, and she did mean it. “S’pose to just be a small, intimate thing with the few she considered friends. Don’t think that’s the type of attention Evie would’ve wanted for herself anyways.”

“I get it,” V said, still fixated on the fish tank with its artificial sea plants and paper fish. “Didn’t know her that well to be attending something that personal. She’s lucky to have someone like you who cares this much.” 

Judy made a noncommittal noise. She eyed V up and down, who was wearing black jeans and a black bomber jacket over a black button down. Certainly dressed for the occasion. “So you’ve checked up on me, saw that I’m still alive and breathing. Anything else?”

There was a pause as V continued studying the tank before turning her head slightly to meet Judy’s stare. “You called me last night and left a message. No words, just crying. Was in the middle of somethin’ so I couldn’t come right away.” 

Warmth spread across Judy’s neck and cheek. Oh how she wished she could get swallowed up by the couch. “Fuck. Sorry. Was drinking with Tom and I guess I got a little too emotional.” 

“Hmm.” 

Judy pressed her fingertips to her eyeballs, hoping to clear away the migraine and the embarrassment. It didn’t work. After a while, she looked back up to see V still eying her. “What are you really doing here, V?”

With an audible sigh, V moved from the tank to take a seat near Judy, but not close enough to crowd her. “I uh...I really was worried about you.” She glanced down at her hands, which were clasped tightly together. “Have you realized that from the heist, we’re the only two still alive?”

As if Judy needed any more reason to feel like shit. Faces - some familiar, some strangers, but still a name she knew - flashed before her mind as she allowed V’s words to sink heavily inside of her. She couldn’t tell if she and V were the lucky ones, or unlucky having to deal with all the fallout. 

She swallowed down a lump to force out something to say - a curiosity that had itched at her for days. “You never told me how your meeting with the VooDoo Boys went.”

“Had to kill 'em all,” V didn’t hesitate to say. “Would’ve left them alone, but then they backstabbed me twice in the span of a day. Probably would've done it a third time if they could. Also don’t know if I could’ve just left it be after what they did to Evelyn.”

“Fuck…”

Judy repositioned herself on the couch, leaning forward with her face in her hands. She drew in several deep breaths before straightening back up. Her palms came away wet. Her headache wasn’t going away, throat was closing up, and there was a hole growing larger within her chest. What a shitty morning this was becoming. 

She turned to V, vision blurred from the tears, and sniffed. “V...can you grab the Bolshevik Vodka sitting on the counter? There should still be two shot glasses in the sink.”

“You sure about that?”

“Why the fuck not.” 

A smile cracked across V's sad face. “Yeah, you’re right. Why the fuck not.” 

******************************

Eventually, they had to act. 

Judy dragged in another long pull of her cigarette, the familiar burn soothing the jitters that ran up and down her body. She and V were loitering on her ex-output’s balcony after propositioning said ex-output to help stage a coup against Clouds and the Tyger Claws. It was a risky plan in retrospect, but she felt strangely invincible with V at her back.

Except Maiko had turned it all around on them, implied that Evelyn had it coming, belittled V’s profession, then embarrassed Judy by insinuating she was unstable. V had seen through most of the bullshit, but Judy...Judy had paused and reassessed for a moment, wondering if Maiko was right and maybe she was in over her head. The flicker of self-doubt extinguished when V spoke up and continued to back her proposal. That, however, still didn’t dissaude Maiko’s doubts and refusal to listen to them. 

“She totally blew us off,” Judy said, flicking the cigarette filter on the floor. Fuck Maiko, she can clean up the liter herself.

“Don’t worry, she’s putting on an act,” said V. “A few days down the line, she’ll call and tell you her plan to take over Clouds as if it were her idea. I’ve met many people like her.” 

Judy knew V was right, but that didn’t tamper her temper. Her fingers twitched for another cigarette as they left Maiko’s balcony and descended down the side of the building. V roped her into a conversation, but Judy’s mind was miles away, flipping through various ideas. They needed a coherent plan, both for them to execute and for convincing Maiko to help. When they reached the ground floor, another issue tugged at Judy, one she couldn’t let go. 

“W-wait a sec. What about Woodman?” His name left a nasty taste in her mouth. 

V looked at her - silent, deliberating, before finally asking, “What do you want to do?” 

“I want somebody to unload lead in his face till there is no face.”

V raised an eyebrow. “Somebody?” 

Judy wanted to smack the look off her face, hating the fact that V could read her so clearly. “Fine...want you to do it.” 

“We shouldn’t bother with him. Woodman isn’t important.”

“Like hell he isn’t,” Judy shot back. “You didn’t experience the virtus, V. You didn’t have to fucking feel his grubby hands on her. You didn’t feel her -” Judy jerked her head to the side, nose flaring as she drew in deep breaths. “Who knows how many people he’s treated like Evelyn. How many more he has lined up. We can’t let him get away with it.” 

V must’ve heard something in her conviction, realized that Judy would go do it herself and probably get hurt in the process, because she nodded and told her to lead the way. Judy was inwardly relieved; her nerves were flayed, heart thundering in her chest, and she needed someone like V to help hold the pieces together lest she do something embarrassing like sob upon seeing Woodman. 

The rapist himself was alone when they cornered him, but like every Night City citizen, he was armed and ready. He barely got a few words out until Judy couldn’t stand his face anymore, and she jumped in and pistol whipped his head. It was a rash, misguided move looking back, but Judy was running on adrenaline. 

A firefight ensued, both sides ducking for cover. Judy shot at him wildly, carelessly, letting out days worth of frustration and anger in each bullet that sounded off. She briefly wondered where V had gone until the merc appeared by her side, eyes glowing red as V unleashed her quickhacking abilities on Woodman.

Everything that followed seemed to happen in slow motion: Woodman screamed, his head overloading with electrical currents. V skillfully slid out from their cover, activating the Mantis Blades implants inside her forearms. Before Woodman could even open his eyes, V swung her right arm and embedded the blade deep into his side, while her other hand grabbed at his wrist which held the gun. With momentum, she pinned him up against the wall then twisted the gun from his grasp and tossed it aside. 

Judy came up to them just as V yanked the bloody blade out, his body flopping to the floor like a heaving dirty animal. He was still alive and uselessly grabbing at his side, blood gurgling in his mouth as he attempted to plead with them. 

V turned to Judy, her eyes an eerie empty void. She swept her hand out in a gesture that Judy quickly understood. V was waiting for her to take the last shot. Finish him off. 

When was the last time Judy killed someone herself? A year ago? Several years ago? There’d been a few casualties by her hand when she first started as a Mox, but now she was a basement techie who flowed credits into their operation by programming braindances. She left the battering-people’s-heads-in to girls like Rita, or to the skilled solos like V. 

But she had dragged V down here to settle a score, and the merc had set her up for the perfect opportunity. The person facing her wrath wasn’t a faceless Tyger Claw or some random gonk who was only following orders because they had a family to feed. This was Woodman. 

This was Woodman, the man who raped Evelyn and how many other hapless dolls. This was Woodman, the man who used to try countless times to get a baby-faced Judy alone with him. This was Woodman. 

Judy repeated it over and over again as she raised her arm, pointing her sight down his disgusting looking face. This was Woodman. Her hands shook, vision blurred, but Judy couldn’t bring herself to pull the trigger. This was only Woodman. So why was it so fucking difficult?

She swore she almost had it - swore she could’ve done it - but V placed a hand over her gun and pushed down. “I’ll do it,” V said softly. Judy couldn’t find the voice in her to fight it, and so she stood stock-still, watching as V swiped her Mantis Blade and slit him across the throat.

It wasn’t a quick nor clean death.

Just like that, Woodman was gone, and Judy found herself slumped inside the elevator, leaving the reminder of her desolate past. Her body was overcome with sudden exhaustion. She waited for the feeling of triumph, or happiness, or any fucking positive emotion to wash over her, but all she felt was the same hollowness. 

“I thought I’d feel more satisfied,” she said. “Almost felt like the world’d be a better place once he died. And the feeling...it was so fucking strong.”

“Revenge is rarely ever worth it,” said V, sliding down on the floor next to Judy. She had blood smeared all over her arms and clothes, but she didn’t seem one bit bothered by it. “But the world did change though. We can think of all the people he could’ve hurt - they’re all safe now. Think of that, if it makes you feel better.” 

Judy glanced over at her, feeling a blooming sense of gratitude and camaraderie. Even when V questioned her or pushed back, she still followed through with whatever Judy needed. V had no obligations to pick up Judy’s holos, or come with her to deal with Maiko and Woodman, and yet there she was. She stepped up when Judy froze, took over control when Judy faltered, and guided her when Judy became lost. With each passing favor come and gone, Judy began to wonder if there was more to the merc than just biz and eddies. 

She met V’s gaze and felt her stomach do an ugly summersault. V’s eyes had lost the glazed over emptiness seen in most veteran mercs during a gig. They were captivating in their natural state, less intimidating and cold, and they read Judy like they understood everything going on inside her head. The implication should be disconcerting, but Judy was too swept up in the tide of emotions to ponder it. 

Why was V so breathtaking splattered in blood?

 _Fuck._

The elevator dinged. They both looked up to see a group of people standing outside the doors, their mouths gaping. Most likely at the sight of V’s appearance, but Judy must not be faring any better. Neither of them paid the group any mind as they dragged themselves up to their feet and made their exit.


End file.
